Had to Be Done
by ROSSELLA1
Summary: Dean wasn't the reason Lisa started dating other people. Takes place sometime between Family Matters and Mannequin 3: The Reckoning.


Had to Be Done

By ROSSELLA1

Note: I do not own Supernatural or any of its characters.

Knocking on the door, Sam gave a relieved smile. It had taken him weeks to find the time to do this. But finally, Dean had let his guard slip and drank until he had passed out. He wouldn't be waking up until noon, and by then, Sam would be halfway on his way back. Sure, Dean would be pissed at Sam for taking the Impala, maybe even be extra cautious of letting Sam out of his sight, but as long as Sam was on his best behavior, Dean would eventually accept the explanation of wanting to visit an exhibit on Ancient Egyptian mythology.

The door finally opened and Sam's smile widened. "Lisa!"

"Sam…" The woman's eyes widened in a mixture of surprise and worry, that only increased as she looked around for and failed to find Dean. "What are you doing here?"

"Is that anyway to greet an old friend?" Sam gave a chuckle, knowing it was something the old him would say. The tension in her face lessened a bit, his light-hearted remark setting her somewhat at ease, and Sam made a mental note to reward himself with an expensive hooker on the next night he could get time by himself.

"I'm sorry, I just…where's Dean?"

"Oh, he's over in Ohio, sleeping off a hangover. I thought I'd take the opportunity to visit. I've got something I want to talk to you about."

Frowning, she glanced behind her, as if checking on something. "Well, I really have to be off to work-"

"This'll only take a moment." Sam said, stepping forward so that he was only a few inches from her.

The woman bit her lip, clearly uncomfortable by his closeness, but apparently decided there was nothing to worry about. "Okay." She took a step back. "Come in." She turned and made her way into the living room, leaving him to close the door and follow. She perched on the edge of the couch, while Sam plopped down in an armchair, resting his head against the back of it.

"Nice house." He commented, glancing around.

"Thanks. So what did you want to talk to me about?" She was definitely annoyed. But she wasn't intimidated yet.

"Well, to tell you the truth, I should have come weeks ago. It would have made this so much easier. For you, Ben, and for Dean." Sam commented casually and made an apologetic smile. "But…at least I'm here now. I want to talk to you about keeping away from my brother." There was a pause.

"Excuse me?" Whatever the woman had been expecting, this hadn't been it.

"You heard me." Sam laughed easily. "I want you to cease all contact with Dean. Don't call him, don't answer his calls. Don't even tell him you're breaking up with him."

"Why…what…who do you think you are?" The woman stammered, her eyes flashing. "I don't know what the Hell you're thinking, Sam, but you have not right to-"

"Oh, I have every right." Sam leaned forward in his chair, folding his hands and resting his forearms on his knees. "Dean's my brother and I have a right to act in his best interests."

"His best interests? How is that in his best interests? We might be having a fight but-"

"This isn't about the fight." Sam gave a brief shake of the head. "This is about Dean being better off without you."

The woman stood up. "Better off without us?" Her voice had risen to a shout. "Better off without us? Sam, we're the one normal, safe place Dean can go! This is the one place where he doesn't have to worry about hunting! You really want to take that away from him?"

"You're wrong." Sam replied simply. "When he's on the road, he's worried about you. He knows he has a job to do, but he can't stop thinking about you and Ben. He wants to be with you when he should be concentrating on our work. Without you in his life, Dean would be a lot happier."

"So why don't you just tell him to come home to us?" The woman snapped. "If he wants to be with us then why don't you let him? Don't you want your brother to be happy?"

"Of course I do." Sam chuckled. "But he tried living with you and it didn't work out. Oh, you had a year, year and a half, but after that things went downhill. Dean and I…we've been hunting together since we were kids. We've had our ups and downs, but it works. And for all the bad times, there's at least two good times. Trust me, Lisa. It's just better this way."

"This isn't about Dean!" The woman hissed. "This is about you! You and Dean…you have the most twisted, unhealthy, codependent relationship with your brother and you can't stand the thought that he would be happy without you in his life." She scoffed. "Does Dean know you're here? Did you-"

Sam sighed and leapt up, slipping a switchblade from his sleeve, putting it to her throat, and forcing her down onto the couch. He hadn't wanted things to get to this. "No, he doesn't." Sam said, pressing his knee into her stomach. "And you're not going to tell him."

"What are you-"

"Shhh…" Sam placed a finger on her lips. "As long as you do what I say, everything'll be okay. I like you, Lisa. I don't want to have to hurt you. But Dean's _my_ brother and I need his help. Hunting…life…just, everything's easier with him. You can call it what you want, but I need him." The woman opened her mouth to say something, but he shushed her, again. "I know, I know. You love him. And I appreciate that. I'm thankful that you've looked after him while I was gone. But you have to understand, he was never yours. Dean's _my_ big brother. He was my brother before he ever even saw you. Now that I'm back, you need to let him go." Sam gave a brief shake of his head. "So. You're going to ignore his calls and stop calling him. You're going to start seeing other people, and soon it'll be like you never even knew him."

"You can't do this…" The woman whispered, still trying to control the situation.

It made Sam laugh. "I can't? What are you going to do? Call the police? They think Dean and I are dead. Even supposing they didn't you'd have no proof I was even here. And you know I can hide from them as long as I want to. You gonna call Dean? And tell him his baby brother threatened you? He'd never believe you." Well, he probably would, but she didn't know that and he saw the resignation in her eyes. "So, you have two choices. Either you can refuse, and I can kill you now, wipe the house of prints, and make sure no one ever finds your body. Dean'll think some demon or monster did it and grieve your death, but he'll get over it. Or you can do what I told you to and live a normal, happy life with Ben and whoever else you choose."

"You bastard…"

"Yes, but what's your choice?"

Anger flared in the woman's eyes, then dwindled. "Okay." She replied dully.

"You'll have to-"

"Okay! I'll…I'll never speak to Dean again." The woman whispered, tears threatening to fall from her eyes.

"Good." Sam smiled. It hadn't gone quite as smoothly as he had hoped, but at least he had accomplished what needed to be done. "Now. I'm going to leave and you're going to go about your everyday life. You're going to move on. And if you ever contact my brother again, I'll come back here and slit your throat. Do you understand?" The woman nodded. "Good. Well, I guess this is goodbye." Sam took his knee off the woman and stepped back, careful to still keep the knife out. "For your sake, I hope it's forever." He gave a nod, and then walked backwards towards the door. Only after he was at the car did he put the knife away. He didn't think that the woman would do anything; she was still too scared. But experience had taught him that there was no such thing as being too careful.

It was a shame, Sam mused. The woman clearly loved Dean and Dean loved her. But as long as there was any hope of her taking Dean back, there would always be the chance that Dean would leave him. It was just something that had to be done, Sam thought with a sigh. And getting into the Impala, he drove off.

…..

"Dude, where the fuck were you?" Dean raged, when Sam finally got back at 2:23.

"Didn't you get my note?" Sam asked innocently. "I went to see an exhibit on the Ancient Egyptians."

"You stole my car!"

"You were passed out and hung over! It wasn't like you could have used it anyway." Sam pointed out, rolling his eyes and tossing Dean the keys.

"That's not the point, Sam." Dean growled. "You…you can't just…take my car without my permission!"

"Point taken." Sam conceded. "Look, I got you a souvenir to make up for it!" He rummaged in his backpack and pulled out a bag, tossing it at Dean.

It was just a travel mug that Sam had picked up at a Wal-Mart on the way back. Conveniently, it had a design of pillars on it, to lend credence to the idea that he'd been at the museum. It wasn't much; not something Dean had always dreamed of owning, but apparently it was enough to quell his anger.

"Okay." Dean sighed. "Just don't do it again."

"I won't." Sam promised.

"So." Dean opened, falling back onto his bed. "What did you do while you were out?"

Sam knew that it was Dean's way of trying to find out if Sam had killed anyone, but he decided it was best not to say anything on that topic. The old Sam would have been dying to tell his brother all that he had learned. "Did you know that the Ancient Egyptians-" He prattled on and on, drawing up all the facts he had ever learned about the culture, while Dean pretended to find it interesting. The woman was pushed to the back of Sam's mind. Unless she broke her promise, he saw no reason why he should ever think of her again. She was just one insignificant person in a world of insignificant people. The only ones that mattered were himself and Dean.


End file.
